A south-bound Union Pacific coal train derailed in southern Denver at 6:30 a.m. this morning between Oxford and Mineral. Some of it's cars fell on the RTD Light Rail right-of-way and a Light Rail car struck the obstruction, derailing the car. It is unknown what might have caused the initial derailment, but cold weather may have been a factor. Santa Fe is closed in the affected area and RTD is using buses to maintain service between the Oxford and Mineral stations.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

With winter comes a bit of a slowdown on the railroads of Colorado, and Colorado Railroads blog is no exception. Because there’s not much news besides the Christmas trains, I'm going to do some more product reviews. You’ve already seen the Gunnison DVD offered. Now to the books!

There is no shortage of books on Colorado railroads but if I had to pick books that would be the best to have in any railfan's collection, Colorado's Mountain Railroads by Robert A. LaMassena would be near the top of the list. Covering roughly 100 years of Colorado railroad history, this book is an exhaustive listing of any and all mountain roads laying a rail in the Centennial State.

Having appeared as separate volumes dating from 1963, LaMassena consolidated and revised his work and Sundance Publications Limited printed it in 1984. It is still the most valuable in researching obscure railroads in Colorado. For example, most railfans know the Rio Grande and possibly the Colorado Midland, but not many know about the Midland Terminal or its use of rail buses to help with passenger traffic after World War I. Likewise, not much coverage has been done of the larger, out-of-state roads including the Union Pacific, Missouri Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Finally, every short line that laid rail (and even some that never did) get at least some treatment. Here’s a partial listing:

Colorado Central

Colorado Yule Marble Co., along with the Crystal River railroads.

Coors Brewing Co.

Denver, Boulder & Western

Denver, Lakewood & Golden

Denver Pacific

Denver & Santa Fe

Denver, Texas & Gulf

Dolores, Paradox & Grand Junction

Fairmount (yes, to the cemetery in Denver)

Gilpin

Golden Circle

Grand River Valley

Great Western (the sugar beet short line)

Kansas Pacific

Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific

London, South Park & Leadville

Magic Mountain (now Heritage Square in Golden)

Montezuma Lumber Co.

Northwestern Terminal Railway (Denver Union Terminal)

Pagosa Lumber Co.

Pueblo & Arkansas Valley

Rio Grande & Pagosa Springs

Routt Pinnacle Coal Co.

Salt Lake & Eastern

San Cristobal

San Luis Southern

Santa Fe Southern

Silverton Northern

Southern Colorado Power & Railway Co.

Stone Mountain Railroad & Quarry Co.

Texas, Santa Fe & Northern

Treasury Mountain

Uintah

Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf

Utah Central Railroad

Wasatch & Jordan Valley

I don’t think I’ve listed more than half the railroads covered. Some of them are simple interurbans and streetcar lines. Yet all of them contributed in a real way to Colorado and her vast network of high iron.

The photo illustrations are very illuminating as well. Rare photos abound including,

December is here and so are the Christmas trains! For those of us missing a model train at the foot of our Christmas trees, here’s a chance to go out and see the real thing. While the first regularly scheduled passenger train first ran on Christmas Day in 1830, the history of the relationship between Christmas and trains is elusive. Nevertheless, the connection couldn’t be more apparent. What else moves massive quantities of toys and other gifts? Santa Claus must have ditched the sleigh and reindeer for steel wheels on steel rails to deliver all those toys.

Here’s a list of the Christmas trains with runs remaining this season in Colorado. While some have already passed, there are still some good opportunities.

Welcome!

Welcome to Colorado Railroads, a site for the fans of past and present railroads serving the Centennial State in the USA. Its editor is a Colorado native, whose fascination with trains started at age 5 in Durango with the smell of creosote, sweat, steam, and coal smoke, the sight of a headlight and smokestack down the tracks, and the sound of an engine whistle echoing off canyon walls. The question isn't "What's so fascinating about Colorado's railroads?" It's "How could anyone not be captivated by such a beautiful and rich experience?" more